The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-12-30
WOODED STREAMS.
One of the Greatest Adjuncts to the
Beauty of a Country Place.

One of the Greatest Adjuncts to the
Beauty of a Country Place.
The effect which large forests have
upon the rainfall, and upon the course
and volume of rivers and streams, is
too we'll known to need repetition. 1t
is rather the object of this article to
point out what may te done in an
easy and inexpensive way on almost
every farm where the land is hilly or
rolling. Any one who has lived much
in the country must have been struck
by the number of water courses in the
open fields, which are as dry as a
desert in summer, and in the time of
heavy rains overflow their banks and
inundate the adjacent soil; while
streams which flow through bit OF
wood seem to retain their volume of
water even during the greatest sum-
mer heats, and also appear to be less
affected by the freshets in the spring
and autumn. The reason for this DIFF
ference is that in the latter case the
banks are held in place by the roots Of
the trees, and the temporary obstruc-
ton which falling boughs and occa
sional heaps of dried leaves and under
brush form, retards the progress of the
water. The protection from the suns
rays, afforded by the overhanging
branches, also aids. In the case of
large tracts of woodland, there is an
action and reaction which goes on,
and by which the moisture in the at
mosphere is precipitated to the earth
in the form of rain, and again returned
to the atmosphere in the form of vapor;
but let all the trees and underbrush be
cleared away, and in short time we
shall have, instead of the pleasant
forest stream, dry ditch in summer,
and rushing torrent in winter, with
the bed of the stream growing deeper
and wider every year. On the con-
trary, if one of these bitches be treated
in what may be called curative way,
the effect, while perhaps not instan-
taneous, will be far more gratifying.
The precise kinds of trees used to
advantage to turn such a dry ditch
into a stream of living waters, varies
according to the climate and other
peculiarities of the locality; but nature
herself, if carefully observed, will offer
ample suggestions. Willows, in all
their numerous varieties, birches and
the well-known beech, all thrive we'll
and are ornamental in their appear
ance. Bushes and young trees may be
transplanted with little trouble from
neighboring streams, the banks of the
ditch graded, and where little trouble
and time can be afforded, the bare
portions of the slope may be sown in
grass seed or neatly sodded. The effect
from the first will be pleasing to the
eye, and will increase in beauty as
time passes by. The room which these
trees and bushes take up on the land
will be compensated for by the amount
of soil which they will actually save by
preventing the washouts which would
otherwise occur. A systematic drain
water possible into one stream, will
both have good effect on the soil and
add to the beauty of the watercourse.
Where the original ditch has been
washed very deep and wide temporary
distractions in the way OF old logs and
loose stones can be thrown here and
there across the bed so as to give the
water chance to back up and be neld
in a sort of a reservoir, thus checking
the severity of the freshets in winter,
and preventing the extreme drying up
in the summer time. a wooded stream
is one of the greatest adjuncts to the
natural beauty of a country place or
farm, and is not only ornamental but
also extremely useful in checking the
waste of the soil, and affording, during
the heat of the summer, cool and re-
freshing place for the cattle and horses
to water and rest.--Cor. Country Gen
tseman.